Folding machine



July 1949. A. EPPLER, JR 2,474,832

' FOLDINQ MACH'INE Filed pril 2. 1948 sheets-sheet 1 Inventor Andrew fibpfer J2: y 3

ZSheets-Sheet 2 [nven tor Andrew E'pp/er Jz' ney -J uly 5, 1949. A. EPPLER, JR

FOLDING MACHINE Filed April 2, 1s4s Patented July 5, 1949 UNITED STATES OFFICE FOLDING MACHINE Application April 2, 1948,"Serial No. 18,620

9 Claims.

This invention relates to folding machines and is illustrated herein as embodied in a machine of the type shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No, 2,270,891, granted January 27, 1942 on an application filed in the name of C. A. Newhall. Machines of this type are commonly employed for folding skived margins of leather shoe parts.

In machines of this type the work is fed intermittently over a work support having thereon a gage block with an upturned plow surface against which the margin of the work is pressed, a gage finger cooperating with the gage block to determine the extent to which the work is deflected upwardly and consequently the width of fold which is to be formed in the margin of the work. A folding finger reciprocates across the path of feed of the work and at an angle to the supporting surface to fold the upturned margin of the work against a creaser foot positioned adjacent thereto. The creaser foot also acts to hold the work down on the support during the folding operation, but is mounted for yielding movement away from the supporting surface to accommodate variations in the thickness of the material being folded. The edge which has been bent upwardly by the folding finger is subsequently pressed against the work by a hammer and cooperating anvil, these latter parts also serving'to feed the work.

In Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,243,077, granted May 27, 1941 on anapplication of C. T. Batchelder, there is illustrated and described a mount for a creaser foot for a machine of the type referred to above by which upward yielding movement of the creaser foot during the folding operation, due to variations in thickness of the work, is confined to a path parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger. Thus the distance between the creaser foot and the folding finger remains constant and the proper clearance between the foot and the folding finger is maintained at all times during the folding operation. Were the creaser foot mounted for vertical yielding movement the clearance would decrease upon upward movement of the creaser foot causing crowding of the upturned margin of the work between the foot and folding finger with the result that the creaser foot would be moved away from the finger and drag the work with it causing a decrease in the width of the fold. This latter movement of the creaser foot is permitted by a pivotal mounting about which-the creaser foot and its support are bodily moved away from the folding finger to facilitate insertion of the work in the machine.

Whereas the creaser foot mounting illustrated and described in the Batchelder patent overcomes the disadvantages of prior arrangements 'and is highly advantageous for most types of Work, difiiculty has occasionally been experienced whenv folding the margins of closed uppers. The creaser foot mounting is inclined upwardly and outwardly of the folding instrumentalities and interference with manipulation of the uppenmay result. It-is an object of the present invention to improve the Batchelder construction whileretaining the various advantages thereof.

To this end and in accordance with a feature of the invention, the creaser foot is carried bya. support pivoted about a substantially horizontal axis above and spaced sufliciently from the'folding instrumentalities so that, upon upward movement of the creaser foot in response tovariatiohs in thickness of the work, the movement of the creaser foot is substantially parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger although the creaser foot moves along a slightly arcuate path. The creaser foot support is in turn carriedbya member which is pivoted about ana-xis corresponding to the axis of pivotal movement of the creaser foot of the Newhall construction so that the creaser foot can readily be moved awayfroi'n the folding finger upon the introduction ofwork into the machine.

The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

-In the drawings,

Fig. l is a front elevation of thehead'ofon'e form of folding machine in which-the-invent'ion isembodied;

Fig.2 is a front elevation of the crease! fobt mounting;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the head of the inachine; and i Fig. 4 is a plan View partly in section of the creaser foot mounting.

A work-supporting table it is formed on the outer end of an arm attached to the frame of the machine, as illustrated in the Newhall patent. Projecting upwardly from the surface of the table iii is a gage block l2 having an upturned plow surface for deflecting the margin of the work upwardly. A folding finger M is arranged to be reciprocated in a path which forms an acute angle with the supporting surface of the table it by mechanism illustrated and described in the Newhall patent, to form a fold in the work after the margin thereof has been deflected upwardly by the gage block H2. The upper surface of the work is engaged by a creaser foot It against which the work is deflected by the folding finger and with which cooperates a release lever l'l having a portion movable upwardly through the surface of the table it to hold the work in position for the action of the folding finger. The extent to which the work is deflected upwardly by the gage block it is limited by a gage finger l 8 which extends through a slot in the gageblock l2. The gage finger i8 is formed at the end of an arm to pivotally sup orted by an arm 22 depending from a hanger 23 which is adjustably secured to a head Fi l by a screw The head M is in turn adjustably secured to the outer end of an overhanging arm 26 by a screw 2?. A spring 28 acts on the arm 29 to urge the gage finger I8 downwardly into operative position, as shown in Fig. 1.

A hammer to is arranged to press the fold against an anvil 32 (Fig. 3) after the margin of the work has been folded by the folding finger M. The hammer and anvil also provide means for feeding the work intermittently between upward movements of the folding finger l 4 at which times the release lever aforementioned moves downwardly to release the work from the gripping action of the lever and the creaser foot. A knife 34 mounted on a bell crank 35 which is swingable about pivots 3? when oscillated by a rod 39, is arranged to snip the margin of the work when an incurved portion is being folded. The mechanism for operating the aforementioned folding instrumentalities and more complete details of the mounting thereof with the exception of the creaser foot may be found in the Newhall patent. The creaser foot it has an upwardly and inwardly inclined shank portion 35, the upper end of which is secured for adjustment in the direction of feed by a screw 33 to the outer end of an arm or support so. The other end of the arm to is pivoted at dl to an arm 42 which is in turn pivoted by means of conical bearing sockets M (Fig. l) receiving the ends of screws to threaded through spaced side walls M of the hanger 23. These screws provide a pivot axis for the arm 12 which axis is at an angle to the line of feed of the work and is perpendicular to the upright face of the hammer adjacent to the creaser foot so that the creaser foot will move in a plane parallel to the adjacent face of the hammer when turned upwardly b the operator, as explained in the Newhall patent. Thus interference between the hammer and creaser foot is avoided when the creaser foot is raised by the operator even though the hammer is in operation.

The arm to by which the creaser foot is carried is provided with a laterally extending shoulder 4-8 (Figs. 3 and 4) arranged to be engaged by a spring-pressed plunger 5!! (Fig. 2) carried by a sleeve 52 formed in the head 24. An adjusting screw 54 controls the action of a spring 56 pressing on the plunger and consequently the force with which the plunger 5!? acts on the arm it. Adjustably carried by the outer end of the arm d2 is a screw 58 arranged upon a predetermined upward movement of the arm to with respect to the arm d2 to be engaged by the shoull-S of the arm all. Thus upward movement of the arm all about its pivotal connection ll with respect to the arm i? is limited by the screw 58.

For controlling the extent of downward movement of the arm til and with it the creaser foot i6, mechanism shown most clearly in Figs. 1 and 2, is provided. Pivoted at of to the head 2:11 is a lever to having an arm 65 connected by a pinand-slot connection to with a link which is also pivoted at "iii to an upward extension ll of the arm l-ti. The head Ed has an outwardly extending bracket i2 through which is threaded a screw ld held in position by a lock nut l6. Surrounding the shank of the screw and held against the head thereof by a spring "it is a cam 3% having an out wardly extending arm 82 by which the position of he earn, relatively to the screw, may be varied. Engageable with the periphery of the cam 89 is an arm 3 of the lever Ell, the extent of counterclockwise movement of the lever about the pivot being determined by the position of the cam The extent of downward movement of the creaser foot it is dependent upon the position of the lava all as determined by the cam but the pin-and slot connection 65 between the link t8 and. the lever till permits upward movement of the creaser foot with the arm at relatively to the arm and the lever es, the extent of which movement determined, as heretofore explained, by the screw 58.

The arm 32 is normally held in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 by a spring 8t connected between the inner end of the arm 2 and a screw 88 threaded through a bracket ilil secured to the head A screw 92 threaded through the arm 22 engages a bracket 9d of the head 24 adjustably to control the initial position of the supporting arm Q2. The lever lid is provided with a thumb piece 536 by which the lever may be turned about the pivot S2 to lift the creaser foot The spring 86 is relatively stiff or heav as compared with the spring 55 backing up the plunger iii? so that the initial lifting movement will take place about the pivot 4i during which time the movement of the creaser foot is along arcuate path of a sufiiciently long radius that its movement is substantially parallel to that of the folding finger. Upon further depression of the thumb piece 98, after the shoulder to of the arm. til has engaged the adjacent end of the screw 58 carried by the arm 52, the arms dd and 42 will pivot as a unit about the bearing screws 5'6 (Fig. 4) against the action of the spring During this movement the radius about which the creaser foot moves is sufiiciently short that the creaser foot moves appreciably away from the folding finger, and thus insertion of a new work piece in the machine is facilitated.

In the operation of the machine the creaser foot will normally occupy the position shown in Fig. l but will yield upwardly in response to variations in thickness of the work such as when seamed portions are passed thereunder. During such times the foot will move about the pivou ll alone a path which is substantially parallel to that of the folding finger. To introduce a new piece of work into the machine the thumb piece 96 is depressed by the operator whereupon the creaser foot with the arms 40 and i2 moving as a unit will pivot about the bearing screws 46 and the movement of the creaser foot will be substantially away from that of the folding finger. It will thus be seen that the advantages of the creaser foot mounting of the Batchelder patent are attained but sufiicient clearance is provided above the folding instrumentalities to facilitate folding the margins of closed uppers.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a folding machine, a folding finger movable in a definite path, a creaser foot, means mounting said creaser foot for upward movement first about one axis and then about a second axis, said first axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that upward movement of the creaser foot is substantially parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger and the second axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that movement of said creaser foot about said second axis is away from the path of movement of said folding finger.

2. In a folding machine, a folding finger movable in a definite path, a creaser foot, means mounting said creaser foot for upward movement first about one axis and then about a second axis, said first axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that upward movement of the creaser foot is substantially parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger and the second axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that movement of said creaser foot about said second axis is away from the path of movement of said folding finger, and means limiting the extent of movement of the creaser foot about said first axis.

3. In a folding machine, a work support, a creaser foot for holding work thereon, a folding finger cooperating therewith to form a fold in the margin of the work, means mounting said creaser foot for upward movement first about one axis and then about a second axis, said first axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that upward movement of the creaser foot is substantially parallel to the path of movement of the folding finger and the second axis being so located with respect to the folding finger that movement of the creaser foot about said second axis is away from the path of movement of said folding finger, a relatively light spring opposing movement of said creaser foot about said first axis, a relatively heavy spring opposing movement of said creaser foot about said second axis, and means limiting the extent of movement of the creaser foot about said first axis.

4. In a folding machine, a folding finger movable in a definite path, a creaser foot, means pivotally supporting said creaser foot for slight yielding heightwise movement about an axis remote from the folding finger, and means pivotally supporting said creaser foot for further heightwise movement about an axis nearer to the folding finger than the first-mentioned axis.

5. In a folding machine, a folding finger movable in a definite path, means for feeding a work piece past said folding finger, a creaser foot, means pivotally supporting said creaser foot for slight yielding heightwise movement about an axis remote from the folding finger, and means pivotally supporting said creaser foot for further heightwise movement about a horizontal axis but at an acute angle to the line of feed, said axis being nearer to the folding finger than the firstmentioned axis.

6. In a folding machine, a folding finger movable in a definite path, a creaser foot, a creaser foot support pivoted about a horizontal axis remote from said folding finger such that initial heightwise movement of said creaser foot is substantially parallel to the path of movement of said folding finger, an arm on which said creaser foot support is pivoted, means pivoting said arm about a horizontal axis nearer to the folding finger than the first-named axis, and means limiting movement of said creaser foot relatively to said arm.

'7. In a folding machine, a work support, a creaser foot for holdin the work thereon, a folding finger cooperating therewith to form a fold in the margin of the work, said folding finger being movable in a path forming an acute angle with the supporting surface of the work support to cause the margin of the work to be partially folded back upon itself, means for supporting said creaser foot adjacent to one side of the folding finger, said supporting means being pivoted for movement about a horizontal axis a substantial distance from the opposite side of the folding finger and above the work support, an arm on which said supporting means is pivoted, and means mounting said arm for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis nearer to the folding finger than the first-named axis.

8. In a folding machine, a work support, a creaser foot for holding the work thereon, a folding finger cooperating therewith to form a fold in the margin of the work, said folding finger being movable in a path forming an actue angle with the supporting surface of the work support to cause the margin of the work to be partially folded back upon itself, means for supporting said creaser foot adjacent to one side of the folding finger, said supporting means being pivoted for movement about a horizontal axis a substantial distance from the opposite side of the folding finger and above the work support, an arm on which said supporting means is pivoted, and means mounting said arm for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis but at an acute angle to the line of feed, said axis being nearer to the folding finger than the first-named axis.

9. In a folding machine, a work support, a creaser foot for holding the work thereon, a folding finger cooperating therewith to form a fold in the margin of the work, said folding finger being movable in a path forming an acute angle with the supporting surface of the work support to cause the margin of the work to be partially folded back upon itself, means for supporting said creaser foot adjacent to one side of the folding finger, said supporting means being pivoted for movement about a horizontal axis a substantial distance from the opposite side of the folding finger and above the work support, an arm on which said supporting means is pivoted, means mounting said arm for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis nearer to the folding finger than the first-named axis, means limiting upward movement of the creaser foot supporting means relatively to said arm, and means holding said arm against movement during the preliminary upward movement of said creaser foot.

ANDREW EPPLER, JR.

No references cited. 

